### 42

You urge your horse to the gallop. Despite the difficulty he has forcing his way through the tall and sodden grasses, he quickens his pace just enough to keep you from falling into the merciless hands of the howling Skarada. Quang and the Watchers follow closely behind, whipping their mounts to extract every last ounce of strength and effort from them to escape the vengeful enemy.

You continue your desperate flight across the rain-soaked grassland until the howls of the Skarada can no longer be heard. As you ease your sweating horse to a gentle trot, Quang and the Watchers catch up with you and the lieutenant signals you to halt. You rein your horse to a stop and your companions draw their breathless horses in a circle around you. Quang pulls his mount alongside yours and together you assess your options.

‘We cannot go on in this direction, my Lord,’ he says. ‘This way will take us back towards Pensei. Despite the risks, we must turn back and continue south if we are to reach Vabou before nightfall.’

You know that the lieutenant is right. The further you go northwards, the greater you will distance yourself from Vabou and increase the likelihood that you will miss your rendezvous with Lord Rimoah in two days’ time. You are about to agree with him when a sudden wave of nausea and fatigue makes you swoon in the saddle. The Eye is exacting an energy drain and the increased strength of its insidious power catches you by surprise: lose 4 ENDURANCE.

Quang grabs you and prevents you from falling off your horse. Anxiously he asks if you are strong enough to go on. ‘Yes …  yes, I’m ready to go back,’ you answer, your voice a little shaky. ‘We …  we must reach Vabou before dark.’

Turn to 34.